2012 June | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Zeller, Pistons, White

By Michael Pina | at June 6, 2012 7:45 pm

As the Thunder prepare tonight for a possible Game 6 victory that could push them one step closer to their first championship since moving to Oklahoma City, rival owners and team executives marvel at a roster that was mostly built through brilliant draft day picks.

With the draft just a few weeks away, here are a few notes regarding some players and teams that looking to emulate the Thunder's success.

Phil Jackson Renews Interest In Magic Position

By Daniel Seco | at June 6, 2012 6:19 pm

6:19pm: According to NBA.com's David Aldridge, "both the agents for Phil Jackson and an Orlando Magic source denied Wednesday any contact between the parties on a potential kingmaker role for Jackson with the Magic organization."

1:14pm: The Magic are unlikely to accept the latest proposal from Sam Vincent to have Phil Jackson join the organization, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The team wants someone who'll be in Orlando full-time, instead of one week per month, as Jackson would be. Though a half dozen candidates appear to be in the running for the GM job, Robbins tweets that a list of finalists has not yet been submitted to the Devos family, who owns the Magic. Even without Jackson around, Pacers assistant Brian Shaw could still wind up with the Magic head coaching gig, Robbins notes via Twitter.

8:40am: After seemingly removing himself from consideration for a position in the Magic's front office, Phil Jackson has renewed interest in becoming Orlando's lead personnel man and bringing a team of his closest confidants into the organization, reports Sam Amick of SI.com. A revised proposal was submitted to the Magic on Tuesday morning in which Jackson would work for the team remotely from California. Sam Vincent, the architect of the plan, would also join the Magic as a member of the front office with Brian Shaw coming on board as head coach and Scottie Pippen taking the lead assistant position.

Beyond salary, Jackson is interested in acquiring a portion of minority ownership in the franchise so that he can help convince Dwight Howard to stay with the Magic given the Zen Master's presence and commitment to the team. Yet, some in the Magic organization view Howard as a lost cause who wants out of Orlando as soon as possible and has no intentions of re-signing with the team. The risk of investing in Jackson with hopes of retaining Howard could get expensive beyond just a minority ownership stake as the former Lakers coach earned $12MM in his final season in Los Angeles.

One of the issues with the plan stems from Magic CEO Alex Martins dislike for having an executive working outside of Orlando. Since parting ways with former general manager Otis Smith on May 21, Martins has been looking for an executive who would be in the office every day. The team's finalists for general manager reportedly include Spurs vice president and assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey, former Hornets general manager Jeff Bower, Thunder executives Troy Weaver and Rob Hennigan, and former Trail Blazers general manager and Pacers executive Kevin Pritchard.

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2 comments Indiana Pacers Orlando Magic Brian Shaw Dwight Howard Phil Jackson Scottie Pippen

Magic Could Be Interested In Kevin Garnett

By Michael Pina | at June 6, 2012 5:46 pm

Hopeful candidates who are interviewing for the Magic's open general manager position are pitching the idea that the team should go strong after Celtics center Kevin Garnett, according to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.

3 comments Orlando Magic Kevin Garnett

Atlantic Notes: Allen, Meeks, Sixers, Celtics

By Chuck Myron | at June 6, 2012 5:02 pm

For much of the season, there were rumors that Boston's "Big Three" were playing their last games for the Celtics. Now, as Harvey Fialkov of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes, the Celtics are on the verge of forcing the Heat to break up their Big Three if Miami fails to rally in the Eastern Conference Finals. There's been plenty of speculation today about the future of the Heat, but that team isn't the only one casting an eye toward the future.

0 comments Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers Miami Heat New York Knicks Orlando Magic Philadelphia 76ers Flip Saunders Kevin Garnett Matt Barnes

Prospect Profile: Will Barton

By Chuck Myron | at June 6, 2012 4:30 pm

Will Barton does not lack confidence. The University of Memphis swingman currently sits 38th on the DraftExpress.com prospect listing, but he recently told Lang Greene of HoopsWorld he believes he's the best wing player in the draft.

"If you look at stats across the board, I’m talking about every stat, every stat and you compare me to every shooting guard or even a small forward if you want to say," Barton said. "All the wings no matter which guys you choose, Kentucky, North Carolina, Washington, all those guys, I was clear cut better at every stat. Not one, not two, but every stat. Averaged the most assists, averaged the most points, averaged the most rebounds and we were winning."

If we assume by Barton's comments that he's referring to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist of Kentucky, Harrison Barnes of North Carolina and Terrence Ross of Washington, he's correct; Barton's per game averages from this past season of 18.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.9 assists, as well as his 50.9% field goal percentage, are better in each category than those three players he seems to point out. They're also better than the numbers of Bradley Beal, currently No. 5 on the DraftExpress.com list. Conference USA didn't exactly provide stellar competition, ranking ninth in conference RPI according to CBSSports.com, but the league rated ahead of the Pac-12, which produced Ross, and Memphis had the 20th best strength of schedule.

The primary reason Barton's stats are downgraded is probably because the Tigers were so dependent upon him, as he was the team's leading scorer and rebounder by wide margins. Chad Ford's player evaluation on ESPN.com criticizes Barton's shot selection and streak shooting, but his 50.9% shooting seems to address that. Earlier this season, Walker Beeken of DraftExpress.com applauded Barton's improved shot selection, noting his increased willingness to attack the basket. Barton shot 34.6% from the college three-point line this year, a concern as he adjusts to the longer NBA distance, but less than a third of his shot attempts this season came from behind the arc.

A common knock on the 6'6", 175-pound Barton is his lack of strength, but that's an issue that an NBA-level weight training program can help address. He may not be able to rebound at nearly the rate he did in college even if he does bulk up, given his height, but he seems to have plenty of other attributes to make up for that. Don't be surprised if a team drafting at the end of the first round that could use a shooting guard, like the Cavs or the Pacers, scoops Barton up. It may be seen as a reach at the time, but it could wind up looking like a steal.

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1 comment Cleveland Cavaliers Indiana Pacers Prospect Profile Will Barton

What 2007 Draftees Earned With Their Next Deals

By Chuck Myron | at June 6, 2012 3:47 pm

Draft position largely determines how much first-round picks make with their first contracts, but it has little to do with the deal that comes after that. Player values can change drastically over the life of a rookie scale contract, as the 2007 draftees demonstrate. Since rookie contracts last no longer than four seasons, 2007 is the latest class in which most of the draftees have signed their second NBA contracts.

They're listed below, ordered by the value of the second NBA contract they signed, with their original draft position in parentheses. Some players, like Morris Almond, have signed multiple NBA contracts since their rookie deals ended, but for our purposes, only the first contract following the rookie deal is listed.

1. (2) Kevin Durant: 5 years, $89,163,134 (signed on 7/8/10)
2. (3) Al Horford: 5 years, $60MM (signed on 11/1/10)
3. (9) Joakim Noah: 5 years, $60MM (signed on 10/4/10)
4. (12) Thaddeus Young: 5 years, $43MM (signed 12/9/11)
5. (4) Mike Conley: 5 years, $40MM (signed on 11/1/10)
6. (27) Arron Afflalo: 5 years, $36,750,000 (signed 12/19/11)
7. (23) Wilson Chandler: 5 years, $31,720,818 (signed on 3/18/12)
8. (15) Rodney Stuckey: 3 years, $25.5MM (signed on 12/17/11)
9. (22) Jared Dudley: 5 years, $21,250,000 (signed on 11/1/10)
10. (20) Jason Smith: 3 years, $7.5MM (signed on 12/16/11)
11. (7) Corey Brewer: 3 years, $7,452,000 (signed on 3/3/11)
12. (21) Daequan Cook: 2 years, $6,432,500 (signed on 12/9/11)
13. (10) Spencer Hawes: 1 year, $4,051,024 (signed on 12/10/11)
14. (16) Nick Young: 1 year, $3,695,857 (signed on 12/19/11)
15. (18) Marco Belinelli: 1 year, $3,377,604 (signed on 12/13/11)
16. (8) Brandan Wright: 2 years, $1,908,532 (signed on 12/9/11)
17. (1) Greg Oden: 1 year, $1.5MM (signed on 12/9/11)
18. (11) Acie Law: 1 year, $885,120 (signed on 8/5/10; waived 12/4/10 and received $500K guaranteed portion of contract)
19. (17) Sean Williams: 1 year, $885,120 (signed on 9/23/10; waived 10/21/10; contract was not guaranteed)
20. (19) Javaris Crittenton: 1 year, $885,120 (signed on 9/23/10; waived 10/15/10; contract was not guaranteed)
21. (25) Morris Almond: 1 year, $825,497 (signed 9/17/09; waived 10/21/09; contract was not guaranteed)
22. (6) Yi Jianlian: 1 year, $827,221 (signed on 1/6/12)
23. (14) Al Thornton: 1 year, $218,677 (signed 3/3/11)
24. (5) Jeff Green: N/A – Deal with Celtics was voided; was 1 year, $9MM (signed 12/10/11)
25. (13) Julian Wright: N/A
26. (24) Rudy Fernandez: N/A; didn’t sign first contract until 7/1/08
27. (26) Aaron Brooks: N/A
28. (28) Tiago Splitter: N/A; didn’t sign first contract until 7/22/10
29. (29) Alando Tucker: N/A
30. (30) Petteri Koponen: N/A

Storytellers Contracts and RealGM.com were used in the creation of this post.

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Bulls Expected To Let C.J. Watson Go

By Chuck Myron | at June 6, 2012 2:38 pm

The Bulls are expected to allow point guard C.J. Watson to become a free agent this summer, as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Simmons indicates that the Bulls will decline a team option, but the Bulls don't possess an option. Instead, Watson's $3.2MM salary for the final season of his contract next year is not guaranteed if he's off the Bulls roster by July 10. So, it appears the Bulls will waive him before that deadline.

0 comments Chicago Bulls C.J. Watson

Draft Rumors: Suns, Warriors, Barnes, Cavs

By Chuck Myron | at June 6, 2012 2:06 pm

The league is holding a two-day draft combine starting tomorrow in Chicago, but the event isn't likely to reveal much about the top prospects. Sam Amick of SI.com reports that Anthony Davis, Bradley Beal, Andre Drummond, Dion Waiters, and Harrison Barnes will not take part in running and shooting drills, and Matt Moore of CBSSports.com takes this as a sign that the league should either force players to participate fully or scrap the event entirely. Fellow CBSSports.com scribe Jeff Goodman nonetheless identifies some of the key issues surrounding prospects that the combine is likely to resolve. Here's more draft-related news from around the Association.

0 comments 2012 NBA Draft Cleveland Cavaliers Golden State Warriors Phoenix Suns Harrison Barnes Orlando Johnson

Odds & Ends: Calathes, Rockets, U.S. Select Team

By Daniel Seco | at June 6, 2012 12:41 pm

The Thunder have an opportunity to make it four wins in a row tonight against the Spurs as the series heads back to Oklahoma City for Game 6. A victory would send Kevin Durant and company to the NBA Finals and further validate general manager Sam Presti's experiment in which the team has generally been constructed through NBA lottery picks like Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Let's check in around the league to catch up on the latest news and stories making headlines on this Wednesday afternoon…

0 comments 2012 Olympics Dallas Mavericks Houston Rockets Oklahoma City Thunder Greg Stiemsma Lance Thomas Nick Calathes Ryan Anderson

Canzano On Kaleb Canales, Neil Olshey, Lottery

By Daniel Seco | at June 6, 2012 11:57 am

An unsettled situation in Portland appears to be gaining stability as the Trail Blazers named former Clippers general manager Neil Olshey to the same post in the City of Roses. The next major decision becomes finding a permanent head coach for a team that went 28-38 and finished eight games behind the Jazz for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. John Canzano of the Oregonian has the latest news and headlines on the Trail Blazers after attending Tuesday's news conference introducing Olshey…

0 comments 2012 NBA Draft Portland Trail Blazers Kaleb Canales Neil Olshey

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Month: June 2012